why does my cat always eat the dogs food instead the cat food?

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Good question. My dog's dish is 12 inches off the ground to keep the cats out and they still stand up and fish around in there with a paw until they can knock a piece out and eat it. My kitten stands underneath Max while he eats and waits for him to drop something. They like my cat food and eat just fine but 2 out of 5 seem to think Max has something yummy that they are missing out on. And they ALL stand up to try to drink from his water even though theirs is right below and usually fresher than his. I guess they just want whatever we don't want them to have.

I don't know what the draw is, but make sure it doesn't lead to your cat not eating enough of his/her own food. The nutritional requirements for dogs & cats are VERY different. Cats are obligate (or hyper) carnivores. The only veggie nutrients a cat would naturally get (in the wild) would be from the stomachs & organs of the prey they eat. Dogs, on the other hand require far less protein, so their food would deplete a cat. Also, a cat needs taurine in their diet for their heart. Dog food usually doesn’t include taurine.

I have even heard of cats who were fed tuna instead of cat food paying for it with their very lives. I even read of a woman who decided to make her cat a vegetarian. Her cat went blind & eventually died. Cats need cat food or a special diet devised by a cat nutritionist or their health will deteriorate.

Of course, they need revenge for the dog being bigger, too. So let them have their fun, just not too much.

Member 796903
answered on 2/8/09.
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This is not in response to the question, but to one of the answers. We all know that cats need more protein than dogs, which is one reason why they shouldn't be fed dog food (or people food, for that matter). But, left to their own devices, they do eat greens sometimes--the most common example being cat grass, which makes them vomit and therefore settles their stomachs, and some cats actually like vegetables (I had a cat who would munch on daikon greens and celery leaves; my childhood cat liked string beans). My other question is regarding cats getting vegetable matter from the stomachs/intestines of their prey. I'm confused as to whether they actually eat the innards of their prey or not; I've seen pictures of mice, for example, that had been eaten by cats, and it seems that they usually leave the stomachs/intestines uneaten. Any thoughts on this?